Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is a little hypocritical of Sinn Féin to introduce this Bill, given its failures in the Northern Ireland Executive, which include an unfair property tax and educational inequalities. The average property tax in Northern Ireland for 2011 to 2012 was €980 but the party vehemently opposed such a measure in the Republic of Ireland. Of the 11 councils in which Sinn Féin is the largest or joint largest party, nine implemented an increase in property tax rates in 2013. We can also consider some of the educational failings, with two of every five teenagers in Northern Ireland leaving school without basic reading and writing skills, according to the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland. Officials from that office visited ten primary schools and ten post-primary schools as part of its examination during the 2010-2011 term, finding that as students progressed through the system, the numbers reaching the expected standard in maths and English declined.

With regard to child poverty, it was recently revealed that according to the UK Child Poverty Act, the offices of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister have a statutory obligation to report on a strategy to tackle child poverty to the Assembly by the end of March 2012. As of yet, that has not happened. One can speak of financial constraints, but this obligation is merely to present a document outlining how these issues would be tackled in times of great resources. It has not been forthcoming, even a year and some months later. Some areas of Northern Ireland have the highest child poverty rates in the UK, particularly west Belfast, which has the highest rate in Northern Ireland at 46.2%. We all know whose constituency that is.

Welfare recipients are also facing cuts in Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Assembly currently observes welfare parity with Westminster, and this is a legislative choice of the Assembly, so, unlike in the case of the taxation regime, Sinn Féin has not thus far made any substantive effort to change the parity principle despite its stated position. The failure to work towards welfare powers by Sinn Féin links to its aversion to financial portfolios in the Executive, and the party is systematically avoiding being in a position in which it must take tough financial decisions. Instead, it is choosing to lay blame on others.

Nevertheless, we welcome the principles of the Bill, as we are a party founded on true republican values of equality, liberty and fraternity, and we want to ensure that any policy coming from public bodies will ensure fairness at its heart. In anything we do - whether it is a difficult or an easy decision - we must prioritise consideration of whether our action is fair and equitable, and whether those who can afford to pay most will do so. If that forms a theme in the forthcoming budget, the Government will be surprised by the people supporting it. We acknowledge that difficult decisions have to be made, as can be seen with the alternative budget we presented last year. It was fully costed by officials in the Department of Finance by way of parliamentary questions and other methods. I know this year's budget will be at an earlier date but we will again take a responsible approach in opposition, presenting alternative costed proposals that will meet the scrutiny of the Department of Finance. More importantly, they will meet the approval of the general public, because the measures will be fair and equitable. That is a current failing, as the public believe that many of the decisions made by this Government are inequitable and unfair. It is annoying people.

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